This invention relates to a securing and locking assembly for live cell chambers for use with light microscopes.
Live cell chambers, typical of which is mine described in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,952, issued to me on Dec. 4, 1990, include an upper chamber frame unit and a lower chamber base operatively engaging the upper chamber frame unit. A chamber or enclosure is defined when the chamber frame unit and chamber base are secured. As more fully described and illustrated in my said Patent, included within the enclosure are an upper seal unit, a fragile cover slip, an infusion/perfusion unit, and a lower gasket or gaskets. An infusion/perfusion chamber is formed between the cover slip unit, the lower gasket, and the infusion/perfusion unit. With the elements of the live cell chamber secured in place it is ready for use, as described, with an appropriate light microscope.
A heretofore manner of securing chamber frame units to mating chamber bases was by use of machine screws received in threaded openings. The chamber frame units would thereby be secured and locked in place with the chamber bases. The machine screw arrangement of locking the elements in place demonstrated certain problems. Overtightening the screws resulted in breakage of infusion/perfusion units or other microscope slides used in the assemblies. Also, overtightening or uneven tightening the machine screws resulted in strain in the glass elements because of a resulting uneven arrangement of cover slips and slide units. It was also found that leakage ziones resulted between chamber frame units and chamber bases due to uneven tightening of the machine screws. Uneven arrangements of chamber frames and chamber bases also created uneven stress on the internal glass elements causing undesirable optical effects. When the surfaces of the internal glass elements of the live cell chamber were not parallel resulting from the uneven tightening of the external parts, undesirable optical cavities were formed between those glass elements.
The problems resulting in improper securing and joining of the chamber frame units and chamber bases generally resulted in ineffective live cell chambers given to providing faulty results in their uses. To prevent the aforesaid problems careful machine screw tightening procedures were encouraged. The tightening procedures did not, however, insure eliminating of the problems, mainly because the possibility of human error in following the procedures were not eliminated.
The securing and locking assembly of my present invention overcomes the heretofore problems associated with hand tightening of machine screws to secure and lock together chamber frame units and chamber bases, by providing uniform and positive securing and locking without the possibility of over-tightening or non-uniform tightening. By so providing, my invention prevents and eliminates leakage between the engaged interfaces of the chamber frame units and chamber bases, slide breakage, strain in the glass elements, and optical cavities due to uneven arrangement therebetween. The new results and advantages of the securing and locking assembly of my present invention are achieved with a simple combination of elements operable without the need of any tools or other aids.